Lighter with electrical igniting means



Sept. 17, 1968 P, RABE 3,402,011

LIGHTER WITH ELECTRICAL IGNITING MEANS Filed May 5. 1966 PM. m (SQ g :2 AA f LL g E Inventor: fm/ fl w United States Patent 3,402,011 LIGHTER WITH ELECTRICAL IGNITING MEANS Peter Rabe, Muhlheim (Main), Germany, assignor t0 Heinrich Mattner GmbH., Offenbach am Main, Germany Filed May 5, 1966, Ser. No. 547,922 Claims priority, application Germany, May 6, 1965, M 65,135 9 Claims. (Cl. 431263) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In a lighter, a burner has an outlet through which combustible gas may issue. Electrodes are positioned to define a spark gap in the path of issuing gas for igniting the same when the electrodes are energized. A shield member is located above the outlet and the electrodes, and is provided with an opening registering with the path of the gas stream. The cross-section of the opening is so dimensioned that a flame resulting from ignition of the gas below the shield member is permitted to pass through the opening so that the flame will burn only upwardly of the shield member, and that flash-back of the flame downwardly through the opening is prevented. This precludes overheating of the electrodes.

The present invention relates to a lighter with electrical igniting means.

Lighters of this type have the disadvantage that the electrical igniting means, for instance a heated filament or electrodes forming a sparkgap, are subjected during operation of the gas lighter to the heat of the flame and the electrical igniting means must therefore in such constructions be formed from material adapted to withstand high temperatures. However, even if the electrical igniting means are formed from heat-resistant material, continuous heating of these electrical igniting means will lead to a rather fast deterioration thereof.

Attempts have already been made to overcome this disadvantage of lighters with electrical igniting means by mounting the electrical igniting means movable with respect to the flame which forms after igniting of the stream of gas emanating from the burner means of the lighter, in such a manner that the igniting means are moved only during the necessary igniting of the gas into the gas stream and are moved subsequently out of the region of the flame forming from the ignited gas so as not to be subjected to the heat developed by the flame. Such an arrangement makes the lighter rather complicated and there exists also always the danger that the igniter means will at the moment of the desired ignition not be properly located with respect to the outlet end of the burner means so that no igniting of the gas emanating therefrom will take place.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome these disadvantages of gas lighters having electrical igniting means.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide for a gas lighter with electrical igniting means in which the electrical igniting means are fixedly mounted adjacent to the outlet opening of the burner and in which the igniting means are protected from the heat developed by the flame forming from the ignited gas.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a lighter of the aforementioned kind which is composed of relatively few and simple parts so that the lighter may be manufactured at reasonable cost and will stand up trouble free under extended use.

3,402,0'1 l Patented Sept. 17, 1968 With these and further objects in view, the lighter of the present invention mainly comprises burner means adapted to be connected at one end to a source of combustible gas and having an outlet end for the passage of a stream of combustible gas therethrough, electrical igniting means, mounting means mounting said electrical igniting means above and spaced from said outlet end in the path of the stream of gas for igniting a combustible gas passing through said outlet end of said burner means, and shield means arranged above and spaced from said igniting means and being formed with an opening therethrough located along said path, the aforementioned opening having a cross-section permitting gas ignited by the igniter means to pass upwardly through the opening so that a flame of ignited gas may form above said shield means while preventing the flame from flashing back in downward direction through the opening.

In such an arrangement, the gas issuing from the outlet opening of the burner means will be ignited and the forming flame will be driven due to the gas stream upwardly through the opening in the shield means and will burn then above the shield means. Thereby the electrical igniting means will not be subjected to the heat developed by the flame. The contact of the electrical igniting means with the flame at the moment of the ignition is so short so that practically no heating of the electrical igniting means will occur and this short contact is immaterial for the useful life of the igniting means.

The opening through the shield means may have various forms, thus the opening may be round, square, star-shaped or be formed between the ends of a plurality of radially inwardly extending wires. The active opening will in all cases in which the opening is not round be constituted by the circular area of the shield means which is free from material, for instance in a square opening by the largest circle which can be inscribed in the square opening.

The active opening in the shield means necessary to obtain the desired effect will depend on the speed of the gas emanating through the outlet opening of the burner, and generally the active opening through the shield means should correspond to the maximum cross-section of the flame which would form in the absence of the shield means or be slightly smaller than this maximum cross-section.

In lighters having electrical igniting means according to the prior art, the necessary mounting means for the igniting means were also subjected to the heat developed by the flame and therefore these mounting means in lighters according to the prior art had to be made from material adapted to withstand the high temperatures developed by the flame, for instance from steatite. In another arrangement according to the prior art the mounting means for the electrodes have been arranged laterally of the outlet opening of the burner means spaced such a distance from the latter so that the mounting means were not subjected to the heat developed by the flame, which arrangement has, however, the disadvantage that relatively long electrodes for the igniting means were necessary.

According to a further feature of the present invention it is possible to form the mounting means for the ignition means from insulating material having only a limited temperature stability, for instance up to C. and nevertheless arrange the mounting means closely adjacent to the outlet end of the burner means. Since the flame after ignition will burn only above the shield means, the mounting means of the ignition means will not be subjected to the heat developed by the flame so that cheap insulating materials may be used for the mounting means which may be selected only with due regard to the electrical insulating characteristic and machineability thereof.

Since the shield means are subjected to the heat radiation of the flame, they are preferably formed from metal.

3 The shield means may be touched immediately after the flame has been extinguished with the fingers due to the fact that the metal of the shield means will rapidly dissipate the heat imparted thereto by heat conduction and radiation.

In a preferred form according to the present invention, the shield means form part of a protecting sleeve which is usually arranged above the out-let opening of the burner means and in this arrangement the shield means are substantially cap-shaped with the aforementioned opening formed in an upper wall portion of the cap-shaped shield means. This arrangement has the advantage that the shield means will be provided with a relatively large heat radiation surface. The shield means may also be formed from a wire structure forming an opening of the abovementioned size located in the path of the stream of gas emanating from the burner means.

The novel features which are considered as'characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partially sectioned side view illustrating the upper part of a lighter according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the cap-shaped shield means illustrated in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a partial top view of a shield means and showing a different embodiment thereof.

Referring now to the drawings, and more specifically to FIG. 1 of the same, it will be seen that the lighter of the present invention includes a housing 1 which may, for instance, be formed from plastic material adapted to withstand temperatures of for instance 60 to 100 C. The housing 1 is preferably clad in a metal shell 2. Upwardly projecting from the housing 1 are the metal caps 3 and 4. The cap 3 is fitted along the lower edge thereof with a push fit in a corresponding opening of the housing 1 so that the cap 3 may be removed from the housing 1 to provide access to the burner means 5 and to the electrical igniting means 6 located beneath the cap 3.

The cap 4 is movably mounted in the housing 1 so that by manually engaging the cap 4 the latter may be depressed to actuate a mechanism of a known construction not forming part of the present invention and not illustrated in the drawing, to open a valve connected to the burner means 5 to permit gas from a gas container within the housing to pass through the upper outlet opening 7 of the burner means. The valve connected to the burner means, and the gas container adapted to contain a combustible gas under pressure are of known construction and do not form part of the present invention and are therefore not illustrated in the drawing. The outlet opening 7 of the burner means 5 is spaced a certain distance below the transverse wall portion 8 of the capshaped shield means 3. Arranged between the outlet opening 7 and the wall portion 8 are a pair of electrodes 9 forming part of the igniting means 6 and having opposite ends which are, as best shown in FIG. 2, respectively arranged to opposite sides of a stream of gas adapted to emanate from the outlet opening 7 of the burner means. The electrodes 9 are mounted on mounting means 10 in the form of a plate of insulating material adapted to withstand a temperature of about 120 to 150 C. and arranged laterally and closely adjacent to the burner means 5. The electrodes 9 are connected by cables 11 to a transformer of a high tension ignition circuit of known construction, not illustrated in the drawing, arranged within the housing 1 and adapted to be closed in a known manner by depressing of the movable cap 4.

The wall portion 8 of the cap-shaped shield means 3 is formed with an opening 12 aligned with the stream of gasadapted to emanate from the outlet opening 7 of the burner means and the opening 12 has a cross-section such that the ignited flame 13 cannot flash back downwardly through the opening.

The lighter above-described will operate as follows:

When the movable cap 4 is downwardly depressed, the non-illustrated valve cooperating with the burner means 5 is opened sothat a stream of combustible gas will escape in upward direction through the outlet end 7 of the burner means. In the space 14 beneath the cap 3 forming the shield means there is enough air available to form an ignitable gas-air mixture which is ignited by a spark formed between the free ends of the electrodes when the latter are energized in a known manner simultaneously with the opening of the valve connected to the burner means 5. The flame thus formed is. driven by the continuous stream of gas emanating through the outlet end 7 of the burner means through the opening 12 in the wall portion 8 and this opening has, as mentioned above, a cross-section such as to prevent a flash back of the flame 13 downwardly through the opening. A flash back of the flame 13 in downward direction is not only prevented by the limited size of the opening 12, but also by the action of the continuous gas stream and further due to the heat conduction provided by the metal cap 3 which will conduct the heat at the lower end of the flame away from the gas stream passing through the opening 12.

The flame 13 will therefore continuously burn only above the wall portion 8 of the cap 3 and act on the latter only by heat radiation. The heat transmitted by radiation to the cap 3 will due to the relatively large surface thereof be radiated away from the cap so that the latter, even if the flame is permitted to burn a relatively long time will not be unduly heated. The electrodes 9 and the mounting means 10 thereof will therefore be subjected to the flame temperature only for a very short moment during igniting of the flame, and during the remaining operation time of the lighter neither the electrodes 9 nor the mounting means 10 thereof will be unduly heated.

The opening 12 may for instane have a substantially square cross-section as illustrated in FIG. 2.

A modification of the above-described arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 3. In this arrangement the shield means include a wall portion 15 forming part of the radiation surface and the actual shield means are constituted by a wire-like structure including a wire ring 17 fixed in any convenient manner in a circular opening of the wall portion 15, and a plurality of radially extending wire portions 18, the inner ends of which are arranged along a circle so as to form the active opening 16 of the shield means which is located aligned with the stream of gas emanating from the outlet end 7 of the burner as described above in connection with FIG. 1. The opening 16 thus formed has a cross-section preventing a downward flash back of a flame forming above the opening. The openings 19 which are thus formed between the radial wire portions 18 permit combustion air to pass therethrough into the space beneath the wall portion .15. Such an arrangement may also be used in a lighter construction in which the outlet end of the burner means is not arranged in a sleeve but in which the electrical igniting means in the region of the outlet end of the burner means are to be protected from the heat developed by the flame.

For the proper function of the gas lighter according to the present invention it is immaterial whether the necessary combustion air is mixed with the combustible gas emanating from the outlet end 7 of the burner means directly in the space above the outlet end or not, however, it is generally preferred that addition of combustion air to the gas emanating from the outlet end occurs in the space 14 within the cap-shaped shield means 3 and for this purpose the cap-shaped shield means 3 may be provided with addition openings 12a laterally of the opening 12, permitting entrance of combustion air into the space 14. One such additional opening is visible in FIG. 1.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of lighters with electrical ignition means differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a lighter with electrical ignition means, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a lighter, in combination, burner means adapted to be connected at one end to a source of combustible gas and having an opposite gas outlet for the passage of a stream of combustible gas therethrough; electrical igniting means; mounting means mounting said electrical igniting means above and spaced from said gas outlet in the path of said stream of gas for igniting a combustible gas passing through said gas outlet of said burner means; and enclosure means comprising side wall portions laterally spaced from and extending adjacent to said gas outlet and said ignition means and a top wall portion located above and upwardly spaced from said igniting means and provided with an opening therethrough located along said path, said opening having a cross-section so dimensioned as to permit gas ignited by said igniting means to pass upwardly through said opening so that a flame of ignited gas may form above said enclosure means while preventing said flame from flashing back in downwardly direction through said opening so'as to substantially eliminate heating by said flame of said igniting means located in the path of said stream of gas before said flame.

2. A lighter as set forth in claim 1, wherein said electrical igniting means includes .a pair of electrode means arranged spaced from each other in transverse direction to said stream of gas and respectively on opposite sides of said stream and forming a spark gap between themselves.

3. A lighter as set forth in claim 1, wherein said mounting means are made from insulating material of low heat-resistance adapted to withstand a temperature of about C.

4. A lighter as set forth in claim 2, wherein said mounting means .are made from insulating material of low heat-resistance adapted to withstand a temperature of about 150 C., said mounting means being arranged laterally and closely adjacent of said outlet end of said burner means.

5. A lighter as set forth in claim 1, wherein said shield means are made from metal.

6. A lighter as set forth in claim 5, and including a housing in which said burner means are arranged, said shield means are in form of a cap removably connected to said housing, said cap having an upper wall portion in which said opening is formed, and said igniting means being at least in part arranged in said cap.

7. A lighter as set forth in claim 1, wherein said shield means further include a plurality of additional openings laterally of said one opening to permit combustion air to pass through said additional openings beneath said shield means.

8. A lighter as set forth in claim 7, wherein said additional openings are arranged about said one opening uniformly spaced from each other.

9. A lighter as set forth in claim 1, wherein said shield means are formed at least in part by a wire structure.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,482,794 9/1949 Peterson 317-87 X 2,941,363 6/1960 Cuny et al. 317-83 X 3,245,457 4/1966 Smith et al. 3l7--96 X 3,295,024 12/1966 Newman 3l786 3,321,671 5/1967 Remy et al. 3l785 BERNARD A. GILHEANY, Primary Examiner. VOLODYMYR Y. MAYEWSKY, Assistant Examiner. 

